Aging Identity

Viewing ageing and identity through the lens of contemporary gerontology theory and postmodernist concepts, this title examines a vast range of issues: from disability to clothing; from ageing, health and education to social philosophies and meanings of ageing; and, from auto-ethnographic methodologies to rethinking post-modern theories of ageing.

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Viewing ageing and identity through the critical lens of both contemporary gerontology theory and postmodernist concepts, the contributing scholars examine a vast range of issues: from disability to clothing; from ageing, health and education to social philosophies and meanings of ageing; and from auto-ethnographic methodologies to rethinking post-modern theories of ageing. These rich examples demonstrate that traditional biomedical models of ageing can no longer give universal and totalising views of ageing. The key issue of the book is to point to the varied social and cultural representations and experiences of ageing and identity formation. The book celebrates the diversity of older people, challenging the bio-medical equation of 'ageing as decline' with exciting and alternative theorisations from post-modern gerontology. Further, a post-modern approach helps to debunk and shatter fixed and limited perceptions of ageing by advocating an alternative expression of ageing; the conceptual and theoretical focus on ageing identity illuminates the self is fluid, changeable and dynamic. This book engages social theory with aging identity by analysing the challenges and opportunities afforded to older people in the 'contemporary age of ageing'.